US stocks skyrocket in early trade; Dow crosses 14,200 level

New York: US stocks on Tuesday surged to record high with the benchmark Dow index touching over 14,200 points in early trade as investor sentiment was primarily boosted by optimism over Chinese economy.

The 30-share key Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up to 14,239.68 points in the first hour of trading. This is the highest-ever level scaled by the blue chip index and also for the first time since the 2008 financial meltdown.

In October 2007, the index had closed at a high of 14,164.53 points and two days later, it had reached an intra day high of 14,198.10 points.

Today, the benchmark was trading nearly one percent or 111.86 points higher at 14,239.68 points.